Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) Shares Purchased by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) by 8.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,838,268 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 308,579 shares during the period. Applied Materials accounts for approximately 1.1% of Van ECK Associates Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Van ECK Associates Corp owned approximately 0.46% of Applied Materials worth $622,068,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Kaizen Financial Strategies lifted its position in Applied Materials by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Kaizen Financial Strategies now owns 3,733 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $605,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. Redwood Financial Network Corp lifted its position in Applied Materials by 4.6% during the third quarter. Redwood Financial Network Corp now owns 1,721 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $238,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,894 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $469,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Chase Investment Counsel Corp lifted its position in Applied Materials by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 4,427 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $717,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Applied Materials by 1.8% during the third quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,343 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $601,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on AMAT. Bank Of America (Bofa) raised their price objective on Applied Materials from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 18th. B. Riley increased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $180.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Applied Materials from $156.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $220.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Monday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Applied Materials presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $201.50.

Applied Materials Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of AMAT stock traded up $1.88 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $205.26. 2,786,965 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,081,282. The stock has a market capitalization of $170.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.59. Applied Materials, Inc. has a one year low of $111.20 and a one year high of $214.91. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $203.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $171.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 2.71.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $6.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.48 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 43.56% and a net margin of 27.03%. The business’s revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.03 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 8.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 22nd. This is a positive change from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 15.06%.

Applied Materials Profile

Applied Materials, Inc engages in the provision of manufacturing equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor, display, and related industries. The company operates through three segments: Semiconductor Systems, Applied Global Services, and Display and Adjacent Markets. The Semiconductor Systems segment develops, manufactures, and sells various manufacturing equipment that is used to fabricate semiconductor chips or integrated circuits.